Sports

Boys Winter Track and Field Take Second in League Championships

Blue Devils varsity boys are second to only Kings Park in the League IV track and field championships.

The Huntington boys' winter track and field team placed second at the League IV Championships for the third consecutive season. Blue Devil head coach Ron Wilson was pleased with the performance at the even, which took place Saturday, January 23 at Suffolk Community College, especially since so many members of last year's squad were lost to graduation.

The Blue Devils grabbed 22 medals in finishing second to Kings Park. "It wasn't easy," Wilson said. "As a matter of fact, we were in sixth place. We rallied toward the end of the meet. We did that with 15 competitors. Our athletes did an outstanding job! We were very pleased with their efforts. Some of them will continue in the post-season and compete in the Suffolk Small School Championship."

In field events, freshman Tyriek Johnson leaped 20'7.5 to win the league long jump title. It was his best performance of the year in the event. Senior Luis Lopez soared 36'11.75 in his last attempt in the triple jump to grab fourth place while sophomore teammate Tyre Brown jumped 36'1" to place sixth as both earned medals.

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"We had yet another surprise from our shot put throwers," Wilson said. On his first attempt, junior Richie Fernandez launched the shot 41'1, his best effort this season. "It's been his goal and many of the other throwers to break 40'," explained Wilson. Sophomore Trayvon Toney also broke through the shame barrier when his throw was measured at 40'1. Fernandez earned fifth place and Toney took eighth in the event.

In the running events, eighth grader Tyler Wolfe, affectionately referred to by his teammates as "Prodigy," ran a bold and competitive race in the 1600m run. In the final 400m stretch, he started edging closer to the leaders and came close to catching the eventual sixth place finisher at the wire, falling just short in a personal best time of 4:57.

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Wolfe was happy with his performance, especially since it was his goal all season to break five minutes in the event. "He continues to improve every time he steps out onto the track," Wilson said.

In the 55m hurdles, Johnson won his second league crown of the afternoon, crossing the finish line in 8.1 seconds. He's already looking to do better than that at the Suffolk Championships this week at Suffolk Community College-West.

All of the top hurdlers in the county happen to be in Huntington's division, including stars from Amityville, Half Hollow Hills West and Bayport-Blue Point. Johnson, not wanting to sound too cocky, believes he can beat them all. "I told Johnson, believing he can and working hard to do so, will improve his chances," Wilson said.

The Blue Devils had another great performance in the 300m dash. Junior Dante Allen surprised everyone when he ran 39.62 seconds to place fourth. "We were debating whether he was going to participate at all because of an injury he sustained the night before to his right ankle," Wilson said. "We are very proud of the progress Allen has made so far this season. He's going to be a great help to us in the spring season."

In the 55m dash, sophomore Tyre Brown had some trouble with his start, but still managed to place fourth in 7.22 seconds, earning a medal and all-league honors.

Sophomore Jared Thorbourne and Stevenson Gabriel both had their hands full in the 600m dash. Kings Park, Harborfields, and East Hampton all had runners who had faster times. However, the Blue Devil duo didn't let that bother them. Kings Park broke out the gate first and Thorbourne and Gabriel were right behind him. Harborfields and East Hampton were also near the lead. Thorbourne kept pace behind the Kings Park runner and ended up placing second in a time of 1:31 while Gabriel placed fourth in 1:31.6.

Sophomores Brad Dwyer and Ryan Ackerman were superb in the 1000m run. Ackerman earned all-league honors and a medal placing fourth in 2:50. Dwyer placed ninth overall in a time of 2:57, his best so far this year.

Huntington's 4 x 200m relay team (Johnson, Thorbourne, Lopez, Brown) placed second in 1:41. The 4 x 400m relay (junior Matt Poellnitz, Toney, sophomore Conor Reilly, Allen) placed third in 3:59, and the 4 x 800m relay team (Wolfe, Dwyer, Ackerman, Gabriel) placed fourth in 9:09, its best time this winter.

The boys large school Suffolk County championships will be held on Feb. 2.


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